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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifteen: Making travel portraits that define personality and character. > A ray of light, Sahara Desert, Morocco, 2006
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20-DEC-2006

A ray of light, Sahara Desert, Morocco, 2006

I photographed this little girl on the floor of her adobe hut, grazed by a shaft of light from its sole window. She watched with fascination as her mother served tea to us. Photographing in backlight such as this is very difficult. We must accept the burned out window – there is no way to hold detail in it and still get detail in the dark room. I underexposed the scene in order to hold the form of the shaft of light, and managed to get enough reflection from it to softly light the face of the child. I wanted to express both the vulnerability and the curiosity of the child. I used burst shooting, making about 20 pictures of her. This was the moment I wanted to preserve.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/60s f/3.2 at 14.9mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis06-Apr-2007 23:09
Thanks, Xin, for coming back to my galleries. I appreciate this wonderful comment. You do a good job of defining the ultimate purpose of portraiture -- it is not about making a likeness. Rather, portraiture is really about telling a story. We try to define both the personality and life of our subjects as simply and deeply as we can. As you note, in this case the story rests in the look on this child's face and the surroundings that give it context. The beam of light leads us to her, and certainly adds a spiritual dimension to the image. I leave the rest of the story to the imagination of the viewer.
Sheena Xin Liu06-Apr-2007 22:48
I am completely drawn by this fantastic piece, Phil. Although I haven¡¯t been here for a long while, I am utterly conquered by both the visual impact rendered via the extraordinary light, and the un-forgettable plaintive look this little girl revealed. Her eyes were talking! There seemed to be a thousand stories happend or about to happen behind her. Time stood still at this moment. I can easily be indulged in this picture for hours.
Phil Douglis05-Feb-2007 20:47
I am glad you like this image, Suwanee -- and I think that making your own interpretation of it before reading my caption makes a lot of sense in some cases. I leave a lot of room for viewer interpretation here, simply saying that I wanted to express both vulnerability and curiosity -- two important human values. But I hope this image will say different things to different people, and it certainly did to you. You see this image as a statement of pure innocence -- which is also a significant human value.
Guest 05-Feb-2007 09:15
Lighting is so beautiful here. There's so much detail in this image. Beautifully framed with the light, the two lines perfectly parallel and pointing towards her. My eyes naturally followed the light and the lines and to her lit hair, then her innocence expression and eventually her right hand touching her toes. This is pure and simple innocence. I didn't read your description of it first with this shot because I want to make my own interpretation of my initial reaction to this picture. Beautiful Phil!
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2007 23:01
Thanks, Philippe, for seeing the power of the ascending smoke within the ray of light. Rays of light are often associated with hope and promise. We want to wish the best for this nomadic child, and that ray of hope is an affirmation of those wishes.
pep26-Jan-2007 21:12
I find another tension (or dynamic) in the picture: the smoke in the ray of light is ascending, adding contrast, complexity and depth to the picture. Extraordinary! Voted.
Phil Douglis11-Jan-2007 19:13
Thanks for pointing out the importance of the relationship between the stick in the background and the ray of light -- everything in this picture leads us to the child and her feelings.
Guest 11-Jan-2007 14:13
I like the way in which the shaft of light cuts across the girl's shoulder and side, highlightling her hair and pink top. She is beautifully framed, not in the centre but to the side, allowing us to see the floor and the walls of the simple abode. The shaft of light and the stick lead us to the direction of the girl. Nicely done Phil!
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